Janusz Olejniczak

Janusz Olejniczak
Olejniczak at Freedom'89: Born in Poland in Chicago
Background information
Born	(1952-10-02) 2 October 1952 (age 64) Wrocław, Poland
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Pianist, pedagogue, actor
Instruments	Piano
Labels	Sony Music Entertainment Poland

Janusz Olejniczak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjanuʂ ɔlɛjˈɲiʈ͡ʂak]; born 2 October 1952 in Wrocław) is a Polish classical pianist and actor.

Olejniczak began playing piano at the age of six. He studied under Luiza Walewska, Ryszard Bakst and Zbigniew Drzewiecki in Warsaw and Łódź. In 1970, he placed sixth in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and two years later he placed fourth in the Alfredo Casella Piano Competition in Naples. From 1971 to 1973, he studied in Paris under Constantine Schmaeling and Witold Małcużyński, and returned to Poland thereafter to study in the Higher State School of Music in Warsaw under Barbara Hesse-Bukowska. He completed his post-graduate studies from 1977 to 1978 in Essen under Victor Merzhanov and Paul Badura-Skoda.

Olejniczak was a member of a chamber orchestra, and his repertory includes compositions of Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Ravel, and Prokofiev. He has recorded often for radio and television as well as on compact disc for labels such as Polskie Nagrania, Selene, Pony Canyon, Opus 111 and CD Accord. Among his awards are five Fryderyks and numerous awards for his recordings of the Chopin Piano Concertos with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra.